Leanor's Great Faith

Last year I was introduced to Leanor for the first time. I only knew her in passing. She was the lady who sat on the corner of our street watching the days action pass by. Much like my grandfather had done when he was alive.

I was not fully introduced to her until one day when her great-great niece Ivis came to our door asking for me to visit her. Leanor was not feeling well and she could no longer leave her bed. I went and prayed with the children who are always at our house. We prayed for Leanor and for her family. I knew instantly when I walked in that she was near death.

When I returned home I called Padre Paco and asked him to come and administer the Anointing of the Sick. That evening Padre Paco came after mass to administer the sacrament.

When we entered the room you could sense the sadness from Leanor's family. As Padre Paco started preparing to administer the sacrament he asked her family for more information about her. Leanor was 95 years old and the only sacrament she received was baptism. Her husband had been dead for over twenty years. At that Padre Paco asked Leanor if she would like to receive Jesus' body in the Eucharist. She nodded her head. After a short lesson on the Eucharist and the sacrament of confirmation Padre gladly confirmed her and gave her her First Communion. He then administered the Anointing of the Sick. He encouraged her to continue to pray and to trust in Jesus. He kissed her head and left.

It was a week later that I returned with Communion. Leanor looked much better and by the next week she was back to sitting out front of her house watching the day past by. The Lord had healed her!

At the beginning of the year Leanor was in the hospital. Her body was shutting down. She couldn't eat or drink. She couldn't move or talk. All of her fingers and toes were incredibly swollen and blood was starting to pool on the back of her legs and arms. The doctors determined there was nothing left for them to do so two weeks ago they sent her home to die.

When she returned home her family asked if Padre could once again anoint her. Unfortunately he was on a retreat with the Bishop and he wouldn't be returning for a week. We offered to bring her Communion and to pray for her. That night after our Holy Hour we brought her Communion. Being that she couldn't eat or drink we brought her a tiny piece of out Lord. Through the grace of God she was able to consume him. During the prayers her family was crying. As we left we reminded her that she had just received Jesus and that she should continue to trust in Him. She should trust that He is either going to call her home to be with Him or that He is going to heal her. As we hugged her we told her we would be back.

The following week Padre Paco was able to once again come to administer the Anointing of the Sick. As soon as we stepped in the house I knew something was different. Her children were filled with joy and they were smiling. When we walked into Leanor's room she was sitting up and talking. She was so excited to see Padre Paco. She joyously replied yes when he asked if she wanted to receive Jesus.

God has healed her twice now. Many people have commented that she must still be around because she did something wrong. On the contrary, we know from the Bible that God blesses some of His faithful with long lives. He has chosen to heal Leanor to remind our pueblo that God still works miracles. He has also shown our town the power and graces of the sacraments. He also shows them how He works through those with incredible faith. How many countless times did our Savior say "Your faith has healed you?"

Ugly Evangelization

The Ugly Side of Evangelization

In this missionary life we love to share the glory stories and the happy times but sometimes there is no glory story, sometimes we just have a story of ugly evangelization. The mission in which we work has zones that have been without the presence of the church, without the presence of the Gospel and without the message of Mercy. When we come into these rare places what we often find is not beautiful but indeed very ugly, saturated in sin and to some without any hope.  For this reason I think they persist in this state because those who come to them, many times from the Church, look at them and say to them this is too ugly. There is no hope here and they move on to another place. They are passed over year after year, and their souls are ever longing for the mercy of Jesus to come to them.  Yet as the years pass they fall further and further into the pit of sin and despair with a lack of Jesus in their life. 

Now one could ask, Taylor how bad could it really be?  Well in one such town many of the people are living in polygamous homes, with many cases of normalized rape and incest. For me what was worse was they had no hope of salvation. When we first arrived they asked us not to waste our time with them. They told us they couldn't have a Christian community in their town because of their sin. After listening and getting to know them over the next couple of months we came to understand why they would say such a thing and why so many before us just moved on.  Their stories were filled with abuse and neglect, they were sad, ugly and I too thought of running away like so many have.  How do you find resolution to mend lives that are so twisted?  How do you bring people into the light that have been in the dark for so long?  There is only one answer… the Mercy of Jesus!  

So we started with the Kerygma, which is Salvation History 101. After hearing this a little spark of light appeared in the darkness and they wanted this Jesus and His Love. This Love was unlike the love they have known and they were very skeptical that they could receive it. They desired to know more and how they can be apart of this Love. 

As we studied they got more and more excited. It was then that they asked about the sacraments. It was during our classes on preparing for the sacraments that again things get a little ugly.  The norm here is that when adults come into the church they receive all of the sacraments they are missing in one day together (It could be a combination of any of the sacraments- baptism, first communion, first reconciliation, confirmation and marriage), but in the room most of the couples then asked, Who do I marry? You see in this room most couples were one man and two wives, both of whom have children with him and depend on him finically. So the discussion that followed moved to a brief and intense class on the Theology of the Body for beginners. By the end the wives were crying and very happy having heard about true love for the first time and the men were very angry and for a moment I did fear my well being.  Although this was a great moment for this community of new believers, it didn't make this easier but in fact just a lot more complex. Now all of these women want to enter the church and in full communion with God, but they all share a husband. The reality is like I stated in the beginning this is an ugly situation and to this day there is no good answer; just that they now have the message of Mercy, the Word of God and the never ending TRUE LOVE of Jesus (that they have always had but now can see).  

There is no magic button or perfect ending because there is an ugliness to sin and the longer we live in it the messier it is, but Jesus came, died and was raised from the dead for ALL.  NOW its our job to get down in the gutter and do some ugly evangelization with the people who others think are too far gone.  Bring them the message of Mercy and the Hope of Jesus Christ today!       

And then Jesus happened!

On September 24th our friends Lider and Dolly of Nuevo Chimbote were married. There were also eight baptisms, eight first communions and two confirmations. This beautiful day was the first time that the community of Nuevo Chimbote ever celebrated their patrona, the community's feast day, in a religious way. Each pueblo has been dedicated to a saint or Jesus. The community of Nuevo Chimbote's saint is Our Lady of Mercy. Lider has shared many times that the Lord has showed their community mercy by bringing us to them.

Lider and Dolly have three children together, two boys and a girl. Lider is 43 and Dolly is 32. When we first came into town sixteen months ago both of them did not have interest in the church, in fact Lider was a drunk. Their relationship was strained. And then JESUS happened!!!

Lider was asked to take on the role of the town animador by Padre and Taylor who had no idea that he was struggling in his faith and a drunk. The animador is the catholic minister in the community. An animador leads the Liturgy of the Word service, visits the sick and dying, and catechizes the community, as well as they are responsible for the security of the chapel and must attend meetings with the priests three times a year. It was through this new role that God called Lider back to Him.

Lider came to every single class that we led every Tuesday evening and every Sunday morning. He started reading his Bible daily. We would spend time having Bible studies together and also we would study our faith. We presented the Kerygma to the community and taught them how to pray. We taught them their first hymns and led them in their first Liturgy of the Word service. For much of the few first months Lider came without his family. He was excited to grow in his faith. He asked many questions and always looked forward to our next visit.

In time Dolly started attending the classes. She would bring their two youngest children. She would come but she wouldn't participate. She was often sitting in the back by herself watching and listening.   At first when we asked if she wanted to get married she said no. It was only a few months ago that Dolly finally shared the reason why she said no.

Over the following months Dolly started participating. She was seen sitting in the front singing and answering questions. She also started bringing more people to the classes. A young man started attending who we later learned was their 17 year old son. She always had a smile on her face and was excited to see our car pull into town. Even a deep wound on her foot from a machete wouldn't keep her away from the church.

When the chapel was being built Lider spent every day working on the chapel instead of in the rice fields working to feed their family. They knew that God would provide their needs as long as they did His work. Lider also started participating more in the Liturgy of the Word services and the classes. He started sharing what he learned from reading the Bible and children's catechism books with the community. He was also open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. There were many times that he shared what he felt God was leading him to share and he was no longer shy and timid.

When we asked Lider and Dolly again if they wanted to get married they excitedly said yes. They also said that their children would also be receiving their sacraments. They enthusiastically went to the marriage retreat.

It wasn't until the one year anniversary of our first visit to Nuevo Chimbote that Lider and Dolly shared their testimony. It was then that we learned how much God had done in their lives and how amazing God is. Our God is a Real God who does Real Things for Real People in the Real World. He proved that to them through His faithful love and how He repaired their broken relationship. As I stated above Lider was a drunk. Most of the money he had earned was used to support his habit leaving little to take care of his family. This led to many arguments and a very strained relationship. When we first asked Dolly if she wanted to marry Lider she could only think of these times and all the hurt he caused her. She wasn't ready to believe that his conversion was real and that God could actually change someone. But over those next months Dolly saw that Lider desperately tried to follow Jesus. He gave up drinking and started loving her in ways she didn't know. For the first time she was able to see Jesus in her husband. It was through his witness and his struggles that she came to Jesus. She saw that when he did turn back to drinking he realized his mistake and turne

d back to the Lord for forgiveness. He also asked her for forgiveness.

Lider and Dolly joyously came before the Lord to receive the sacrament of marriage because they know what life is like living without Him. They don't want that anymore. They have asked Him into their hearts and to change their person now they were coming before Him to ask Him to change their marriage. They know that God will help them with their struggles and that He will be their faithfully as the center of their marriage. They also have faith that their example will also bring other's to know His saving GRACE!

"Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace."

He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace." Luke 8:48

Taylor first met Isabel back in January when he visited her pueblo for the first time. We had just been given 20 new pueblos to minister to in the Bombonajillo valley. Taylor and our friend Max travelled to Bombonajillo over three days before the rains came. (This valley is difficult to get to due to the poor road. During the rainy season the road is impassible. The only way out at this point is to hike out in the mud down the mountain.)

Isabel's foot.

When Taylor was introduced to Isabel he was told that she was very sick. Taylor and Max went to her house to visit with her. They found her sitting in a chair in pain. The picture above shows the cause of her pain. Her friends tried their best to console her by placing cool rags on her foot as well as moving the air around her foot to keep the flies away. There was no medicine to treat her foot in her pueblo. They believed it was a flesh eating disease and that she needed to somehow get to Tarapoto for treatment. No trucks were scheduled out since the rainy season was about to begin and she was in no condition to walk.

Taylor and Max prayed with her. They shared the gospel. Taylor said that they only thing he could give her was his prayer but that is all that God needs to work with. Simply put faith. Taylor shared the miraculous healings from the Bible. He also shared our own stories of miraculous healings. Taylor then prayed over her that she might have faith and that God would show mercy and heal her.

When Taylor explained her condition to me when he got home I contacted a friend in regards to her condition. The news was not good news. Upon reviewing the picture they came to the conclusion that she had a flesh eating disease and that she needed immediate treatment with powerful IV medicines. Unfortunately the rainy season had begun. There was no way to get to her. We turned to the Lord in prayer and begged for His mercy.

Last week Taylor, Max, Andrea, and Bre headed back to the Valley once again. This time they had four days to minister to the people. One of the stops along the way was to visit Isabel. We had hoped that we would find Isabel alive.

Praise be to Jesus Christ. Isabel was alive. In fact Isabel was cured. She shared with the group that during those months she thought she might die but that she still had faith that God would heal her. She shared a dream she had. She said that she had gone to Heaven. And while she was there she went to the foot of our Lord. He had said that it was not her time yet and there was still work for her to do. He asked her to be a missionary, to spread His Good News. It was then that she knew she would be healed and that she was supposed to take part in sharing the Gospel.

Our friend Bre, a nurse, evaluated Isabel. She found that she had complete use of her foot and complete feeling in it as well. Both of which seem impossible due to the thickness of the scar tissue. Isabel asked that the missionaries pray over her again but this time so that she might be able to walk. She hasn't left her chair in 5 years but she is determined to become God's missionary and to spread His Word.

Isabel with Bre. Bre examined Isabel last weekend. She found that Isabel's foot is completely healed with full motion and feeling.

The kingdom of God is at hand- Video Blog

Taylor felt called by the Holy Spirit to create a video blog this week. 

Morropón Chapel

On May 25th we were blessed to have Bishop Rafael join us in Morropón to bless the completed chapel. It was such an exciting day for the community and for us. The project a year in the making was now complete.



It was also time for us to give this community to another amazing missionary family. The Carmody family will be ministering to the community as well as Nuevo Esperanza, Puerto Rico, and San Hilarion.

We were blessed to work with these pueblos last year but we are even more blessed to work alongside another awesome missionary family!

Leo handing Bishop Rafael the leaves to use for blessing the chapel.

Bishop Rafael gave Taylor the honor of breaking the bottle of champagne.

Here are some pictures from the day. We hope you like them.

We hand a lot of fun with it. He broke it in one swing. It was so cool to experience it!

The people placed flowers on the path leading into the chapel

Leo waiting for the blessing to begin inside the chapel.

The inside of the chapel

Bishop Rafael blessing the crucifix

Celebrate Good Times C'Mon

The chapel is complete in Nuevo Chimbote. What better way to celebrate than mass with our Bishop?  On May 25th Bishop Rafael came to the community of Nuevo Chimbote, San Martin, Peru. In just four months the people of Nuevo Chimbote were visited by two different bishops. For a community that had been lost this is absolutely amazing! Below are some pictures from the special day. We hope you like them. Please continue to pray for the community of Nuevo Chimbote as they are still very new to the faith.

The community came together to put in this path from the road to the chapel. When they were all done laying the stones they found that the path formed the shape of a cross. Outside of the path the community will be planting flowers and bushes for a prayer garden. Above the path will be a terraces with grape vines to provide shade. Since this picture was taken the community has planted some palms and flowering bushes. They are currently working on saving the money for the fence around the chapel and the terraces. They are so excited and everyday someone is there to take care of the plants and the chapel.

What a beautiful church. Here is the finished inside photo. A special thanks to our friends from Holy Family Parish who helped make this possible through their donations and their hard work here. Now wasn't digging the footing by hand worth it?

The patron saint for Nuevo Chimbote is Our Lady of Mercy. How perfect that God blessed us with this community! We have a devotion to the Divine Mercy and this chapel was built in the year of Mercy. God is simply amazing!

The priests brought all of the church leaders from the other communities to celebrate with Nuevo Chimbote. When I saw this truck I instantly thought cattle trailer and it brought me back to WI.

Miguel is hanging off of the truck helping the people step down. Miguel is from Ecuador and he is in the process of learning English so he can join Intake in Louisiana this year. He lived in the community where FMC had missionaries and heard God asking him to enter the mission. Miguel in turn has helped one of our Peruvian friends hear the call from the Lord and this young man is discerning missions as well.

School was put on hold for mass. All of the chidden with the teachers joined us for mass that day. It was so beautiful to see the children there with us. For most it was their first time at mass. The children sat in the aisle and Bishop Rafael directed part of his homily to them. It was so precious.

Our friend Max made these signs to welcome Bishop Rafael. The kids were so excited to hold the signs. At one point all you could see was the sign and some feet. 

Padre Paco, Bishop Rafael, and Padre Leopoldo (L-R). We have had the pleasure to sit and talk with Bishop Rafael. He is so humble and encouraging. When we stayed in the retreat center in Moyobamba he was the one who opened the doors and he was the one who made our beds up.

Padre Paco and Padre Leopoldo are missionary priests from Córdoba, Spain. I can not express my gratitude for serving under these amazing holy men. God has truly blessed us!

You can see part of Dante in the background. Dante is a man from Picota that is currently in the seminary. He will be ordained as a priest in two years.

Blessing of the statue of the Divine Mercy.

Blessing of the crucifix.

Bishop Rafael giving his homily. He talked about the importance of receiving baptism but also of changing your life and living for Jesus. It was very beautiful! This was something that we had been sharing with the people. It was very good for them to hear it from Bishop Rafael.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Taylor was asked to share about our experience in finding the community of Nuevo Chimbote. He also shared in our joy of journeying with them over the past year. We have been so blessed to witness the love that they have for Jesus blossom and grow. 

Our friend Lider. When we first came to Nuevo Chimbote he wanted to have his children receive baptism. When the faith community started to come alive we asked him to become the church leader for the community. He reluctantly accepted. It wasn't until after this mass that he shared his testimony with us. His testimony brought me to tears. (This is why we sold everything. This is why we are missionaries.) Before we came to town he said that he drank. I am assuming that it was like most men here which means he drank a lot. When we came to town and started classes he didn't have a relationship with Jesus. As he attended the studies with us and as he read the bible we gave him it was then that he found Jesus. He found Jesus and he changed his life. He stopped drinking and started reading his bible. He sought the Lord and started living for the Lord as well. He is an amazing encouragement for the people of Nuevo Chimbote. He often begs for patience for the community as they are still coming to know the faith. He also is so open to the Holy Spirit. He is a shy man but when he feels the Holy Spirit he has no problem speaking up and sharing. It is so beautiful to see this. I think the most beautiful thing he shared was that he has fallen back into old ways every once in a while but he then turns to Jesus and begs for His mercy. Lider and his wife Dolly will be receiving the sacrament of marriage on September 23. They will also be receiving first confession, first communion, and confirmation that day as well. Their witness is far greater than anything I could ever say. I am so honored and humbled to call them my friends.

The community of Nuevo Chimbote fed all of us after mass. Feeding 150+ people is a lot of work and you need to call in the troops. Some of our friends from Nuevo Egipto came to help cook so the ladies from Nuevo Chimbote could participate in their first mass in the chapel. There are not many people that Faustina will go to but Max's sister is one of them.

Check out the size of those pots. You bring out the big guns when there are 150+ people. Preparing to cook the rice and beef for lunch. 

Another view of the large pot. When I saw this pot I instantly thought chicken boyah. It wasn't as large as the kettles we use in WI but it was big. I also then wanted chicken boyah and unfortunately that is not a dish they have here.

The people in Nuevo Chimbote use the water from the canal for everything. They bath in the canal and wash their clothes in the canal. Each family has a certain time and day to go down to the canal to bath and wash. If you don't go down in your designated time you have to wait until next time. When the group was here working in the church the team had to go down to the canal and bucket water into a tank so they could have water to make concrete. The people also use this water to cook most of their food. They use wood fires to get the water extremely hot to sanitize it before adding the ingredients. The fisher families in town can purchase good drinking water but most do not.

Yuca is a wonderful starch that we were introduced to. It is delicious. We are often served boiled yuca with meat and rice. Our favorite way to prepare it though is fried. It is yummy like french fries. The flesh of the yuca is white which means that it takes on the color of whatever it is cooked with. This yuca was not cooked in the canal water. Our friend Hilda caught rainwater in buckets that week so we could have fresh clear water to boil the yuca in. It is said that you can tell the level of poverty of the people by the color of the yuca. If you are served white yuca the people either collect rainwater or good drinking water to cook it in. If it is darkly colored or is served with a sauce the people do not have access to clean water. 

Just four months ago an old dirt building came down and now this beautiful chapel stands in its place. The community celebrates a Liturgy of the Word service here every Sunday. Our family comes every Tuesday for a bible study. The faith is alive and growing. In September we will have a sacrament mass where Lider and Dolly will be married as well as many children will receive baptism and first communion.



We want to send a special thanks to everyone who helped make this chapel possible. Thank you Holy Family parishioners for your prayers and support.
Thank you to our friends and family in Brillion, Reedsville, Greenleaf, Appleton, Green Bay, Hilbert, Denmark, and Chilton.
Heidi and John, Nancy and Mark, Curt, Christel, Jesse, Tom, Ken, and Mary Beth thank you for all of the blood, sweat, and tears that you put into this project! You touched the community in ways they were not expecting. It was so beautiful to watch the men of the community join you in the work. Your example helped bring Ulysses back to the faith. It was because of you that we were introduced to Fiorela. Thank you so much and we can't wait until we see you next year!!!